Prom Realizations - I'm an Idiot
by benjji2795
Summary: Prom is coming up and Jude still doesn't have a date. It's their senior year, and Connor, realizing that Jude won't go alone, turns down every offer he had for a date and instead hatches a plan to give his best friend the perfect prom night. And somewhere along the way, Connor begins to notice that the nature of his feelings for Jude might not be what he thought they were


"I'll let you know," Connor said confidently to the visibly shaking boy in front of him. The boy nodded and quickly scurried off as Jude came up to Connor.

"Seriously Connor?" Jude exclaimed. "That's like the sixth person that's asked you to prom!"

"Yeah, I don't know what I did, but suddenly everybody wants me," Connor sighed dramatically, and Jude rolled his eyes.

"Oh get over yourself," Jude groaned, playfully shoving Connor. "You don't know how fucking lucky you are. I mean, you've had six people ask you, and I can't even get _one_ person to ask me," he added, sighing heavily as he leaned up against the lockers. Connor frowned.

"Surely at least someone would be interested in having you as their date," Connor reasoned, but Jude shook his head.

"Connor, there are five gay/bisexual guys in our grade. There's you, there's me, there's Johnny and Tony, and they're dating each other, and then there's Carson, who has a boyfriend from another school," Jude explained, even though Connor already knew this. But Connor thought there was always a chance there might be a newly out boy, or perhaps Johnny, Tony or Carson had had a break up. "That leaves no one for me."

"Well you're still going right?" Connor inquired.

"No, not a chance," Jude replied. "I'm not going to be that loser who sits at a table in the corner by himself the whole time."

"Jude, it's your senior prom!" Connor argued. "You can't just _not_ go!"

"Watch me," Jude challenged as the bell rang for class. "Hey, you're coming over tonight, right?"

"Yeah," Connor answered absentmindedly, his mind already revving up to figure out a plan to get Jude to prom. "I'll see you after school."

And with that, Connor hurried off to his class. He sat with Daria and Taylor in this one; maybe they could help him come up with a plan to find Jude a date.

Connor plopped down into his seat in between the girls.

"We need to get Jude a date for prom," he announced.

"Hahaha, good luck," Taylor snorted. "I've been trying for weeks, but I can't find anyone to go with him."

"Well it's not like he needs a date to go," Daria interjected.

"Yes he does," Connor and Taylor responded at the same time.

"He just told me he's not going by himself," Connor explained. "And I want him to go; he's never been to any of the school dances before, and he needs to have that experience at least once before he graduates. Besides, if anyone deserves the perfect prom night, it's Jude."

"Well then find some girl who'll be willing to go with him as his friend," Daria shrugged.

"That's actually not a bad idea. Hey—" Connor began, turning to Taylor who promptly cut him off.

"Connor, I already have a date. Otherwise I would."

"Ugh," Connor grumbled.

"Yes Mr. Stevens?" the teacher inquired.

"Oh, um, nothing sir," Connor stuttered, quickly glancing down at his desk to see a note on top of his binder.

 _Why don't you take him as your date?_ Taylor had scrawled. Connor looked at her quizzically, and she snatched back the paper, rapidly scratching down another note.

 _You're the one that's concerned about him going and having the perfect night. No one knows him better than you. If anyone could give him that, it's you._

Connor read the words and smacked his forehead. Taylor was right; obviously he had to take Jude to prom. His best friend deserved it, and if anyone could give him the prom that he wanted, it _would_ be him. So after class, Connor sprinted out of the room, chasing down all the other guys and girls that had asked him so he could turn them down before getting to work on how to ask Jude to be his date.

Connor was now in his car on the way back to the Adams-Foster house. It was a Friday night, and they were having a sleep over as they usually did. Right now, the two of them were playfully bantering back and forth. Jude's phone dinged and he paused for a second, glancing at the message before turning back to Connor.

"So what's this I hear about you turning down all your offers for dates?" Jude questioned.

"Dammit," Connor muttered. He knew that once he started turning people down, word would get out fast, but he had been hoping he would've at least had the weekend before Jude found out.

"Well?" Jude said expectantly when Connor didn't say anything further.

"I guess since the cat's already out of the bag, I might as well just tell you," Connor sighed, pulling into the driveway. "I turned them all down because I decided to ask someone else."

"Really? So who's the lucky guy/girl?"

Connor took a deep breath; or at least he tried. For some reason his nerves were suddenly lighting up; his breathing was getting shaky and uneven and his hands were starting to tremble. He was just asking Jude, his best friend of almost six years, to come with him to prom, as his best friend. It didn't mean anything particularly special, so why did that suddenly seem like an impossible task?

"You," Connor mumbled. "I want you to come with me as my date."

"I-I'm sorry what?" Jude stammered feebly.

"You said you weren't going to go if no one asked you. And I don't think anyone should miss their senior prom, so I thought maybe you might want to go with me?" Connor repeated slowly as they walked up to the house.

"You really don't have to do that for me," Jude said softly, shoving his hands in his pockets and intently studying the ground below his shoes. "Going isn't that big of deal to me, and you should get to go with someone as an actual date. I'll be fine."

"Jude," Connor spoke firmly, grabbing Jude's shoulders and turning Jude so that he was facing him, giving him a genial smile. "Jude, come on, look at me. I'm not giving anything up to do this, okay? I'm doing this because I want to, not because I like, feel some kind of obligation or anything. You're my best friend, and you deserve to have the best prom ever, so I want to give that to you." Jude stared at him, the hope visibly shimmering in his eyes as Connor talked.

"You really mean that?" he asked when Connor finished.

"Absolutely, one hundred percent."

Jude's face lit up, a massive grin playing across his lips as he tightly squeezed Connor in a hug.

"Thanks Con," he whispered, before releasing him and sprinting into the house. Connor chuckled lightly at Jude's reaction, feeling warm and fuzzy inside that Jude was so excited to be going.

"Hey moms! Hey moms!" he shouted, gliding into the kitchen as Connor trailed a short distance behind. "Guess who's got a date for prom?"

"I thought Taylor already had a date," Stef replied sarcastically. Normally Jude would've glared at her, but he didn't. Connor guessed he was just too happy to care about his mom's joke.

"Oh bubba, I'm so happy for you!" Lena exclaimed, jumping up to give Jude a hug.

"So who are you going with love?" Stef asked. Connor sheepishly raised his hand, giving Jude's moms a shy smile.

"I'm taking Jude as my date," Connor explained.

"Well congratulations," Lena said. "I'm glad to see that you two are finally—"

"Woah hold up, it's not _finally_ anything," Jude said, interrupting his mama. "Connor and I are just going as friends. At least, I think that's what he meant."

"Yeah," Connor squeaked, puzzled by her words. What did Lena mean by _finally_?

"Okay, well we'll need to find a chance to rent you a tuxedo," Stef commented before Connor had any time to think over Lena's words too deeply. It was nice that his moms were willing to do that, but Connor had a different plan in mind.

"No need," Connor cut in rapidly. "I've already got something else planned."

"What do you mean?" Stef wondered.

"I just mean, I'm gonna take care of all of this, you two don't need to do anything," Connor replied. This was going to be Jude's perfect prom, and Connor was going to take care of every little detail himself. He needed to have that control, so he could be sure _nothing_ would go wrong.

"Are you sure about that?" Stef inquired. "Because you know we can always—"

"Yeah, I'm sure," Connor said, cutting her off again. "I'll get it all taken care of."

"So bubba, you excited?" Lena questioned.

"You bet!" Jude declared, beaming wider than Connor had ever seen him.

Later that night, Connor's phone rang, his dad coming up on the caller ID.

"Hey dad, what's up?" Connor answered cautiously, wondering why his dad would be calling him.

"Oh nothing much, just wondering how today went," Adam said casually.

"What do you m—"

"You said you were going to decide on your date for prom today," Adam clarified. "I just wanted to see who you were going with."

"I'm taking Jude as my date," Connor stated simply. There was a noise on the other end that sounded like gagging or choking (it wasn't too clear which).

"It's about time," Adam coughed. _About time?_ Connor pondered. First it was Lena, and now his dad. What the hell were they talking about?

"If you say so," Connor responded questioningly, brushing the strange comment off. "But while you're on the phone, I should probably tell you I won't be home until sometime tomorrow afternoon, since we need to go get tuxes."

"Okay then son, take your time," Adam replied. "Love you bud."

"Love you too dad. Bye," Connor said hanging up the call.

 _Finally_. _About time_. Connor wondered what they meant by those words. Jude was his best friend, and had been for a long time. Sure Jude was gay and Connor was bisexual, but just because they both were attracted to guys didn't mean they had to be interested in each other. Connor generally leaned towards girls anyway. Connor just couldn't understand what their parents were talking about.

Connor looked over at Jude, who had just come into the bedroom (Connor was currently sitting on Jesus' old bed), studying his friend intently. There was no denying that Jude was cute, with his wiry, but still solid frame, his messy dark brown hair, his deep brown eyes, and his pale, thick lips. And that was just what someone saw at first glance, but Connor knew there was so much more to Jude. Going beyond his looks, there was also the way his eyes crinkled up and almost disappeared when he laughed, his smile that was so big it seemed like it was going to split his face clean in half, his deep, gravelly voice that always sounded so wise and understanding, his ear-piercing shrieks of laughter, his quick and witty sense of humor, the way he thought deeply about everything and always seemed to be able to see a different side to every story, his quiet strength and strong will. The more he thought about it, the more Connor realized that not everyone got to see all of Jude, but he did, and so he knew better than anyone else (save Jude's family) that Jude was a beautiful person, inside and out.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Jude questioned, snapping Connor out of his thoughts.

"L-like what?" Connor stammered. His thoughts had just wandered off to a strange place; he couldn't recall ever thinking about his best friend like that before and Connor was supremely confused.

"I dunno," Jude shrugged. "You've just been staring at me for a long time, I'm getting a little weirded out."

"Oh s-sorry," Connor stuttered. "I-I'm really tired, that's all. I think I'm going to go to sleep now. I'll talk to you in the morning."

"Okay, night Con."

Connor rolled over, digging his head into the pillow as he tried to push Jude from his thoughts. But no matter how hard he tried, Jude kept wandering back into the forefront of his brain. _Everyone thought about their best friend like that, right? Like, if you don't think your best friend is attractive and wonderful human being who deserves everything, then how good of friends are you really?_ Connor reasoned, trying to explain the strange thoughts away. Still it bugged him, the thoughts seemed so out of place and out of character. They kept him from sleeping well, tossing and turning throughout the whole night.

Morning came far too soon for Connor's sleep deprived mind, as Jude was shaking him awake.

"Juuuuuude," Connor moaned, "let me sleep!"

"Connor, it's almost noon and I'm bored and tired of waiting for you!" Jude countered.

"Noon? Ugh, shit," Connor muttered, sitting up and rubbing his eyes vigorously. "We need to get going."

"Get going where?" Jude mused.

"We need to get tuxes for prom," Connor pointed out, since he had forgot to tell Jude that was his plan the night before.

"Oh, well come on then, let's go!" Jude squealed excitedly, pulling Connor out of the bed. Connor giggled at Jude's eagerness. He should've expected Jude would be so excited; he'd never been to a dance of any kind before, so it would make sense for him to be enthusiastic about all of hubbub surrounding it. Connor got ready quickly, not because he was any more awake, but because he didn't want to keep Jude waiting. He would get over his tiredness; this was all about Jude anyway, not him.

They drove to the rental shop where they would be getting their tuxes, and Connor led the way inside, going up to the front desk.

"Good afternoon," he said cheerily. "My friend and I need to rent tuxes for our prom next week."

"Okay," the employee said, clearly showing his disinterest while still doing his job. "Do you have any pictures of the dresses your girlfriends will be wearing so we can match your tuxes?"

"O-oh, um no we don't h-have girlfriends," Connor spluttered. "We're uh, going together, so we have to match each other, not anyone else."

"I see," the man sneered, giving Connor a look that unsettled him. "Please follow me," he continued, reverting to his flat, uncaring tone from earlier and leading them into a small dressing room. "There will be a tailor with you shortly to size you two and pick out your tuxes."

"So what were you thinking Jude? Did you want to do something like black with colored ties, or maybe a bright blue since I know that's your favorite color, or we could even do white if you wanted," Connor nervously rambled, feeling a bit unnerved by the desk employee's reaction to the two of them.

"I was thinking black suits with blue ties honestly," Jude replied calmly.

"Neck ties or bow ties?" Connor asked.

"Um, I was thinking I would wear a bow tie, and you can wear whichever one you want," Jude answered. At that moment the tailor, a short, older woman with curly blonde hair, stepped into the room, greeting the two of them.

"So I understand you two are together?" she questioned.

"W-we're going together y-yes," Connor stuttered, feeling stunned by the assumption, even though what he had said to the desk employee (who would've likely relayed what he said to the tailor) pretty clearly implied that. "B-but we're not actually t-together."

"Okay, wonderful," she smiled. "So what were you two looking to do for your outfits?"

"W-we-w-w-we," Connor faltered, unable to form the words he needed to say for some reason.

"Black suits, royal blue ties," Jude told her, placing a hand on Connor's shoulder and squeezing it gently, a gesture that went a long way to calming Connor down.

While Jude stepped up to get measured for his tux first, Connor mentally slapped himself for almost completely losing it. Of course people were going to assume they were together! So then why was he so unprepared for someone to say that? Strange things had been happening in Connor's head the past 24 hours, and he couldn't figure out why.

"What do you think?" Jude asked, turning around and showing off the tux he had apparently changed into sometime while Connor was lost in his thoughts. Connor took one look and the hand that he was leaning his weight on somehow slipped, nearly sending him tumbling off his chair. Connor had never seen Jude look this—well there was no other way to describe it— _hot_.

"Y-you l-l-look incredible," Connor forced out with great difficulty, as his entire brain seemed to be short-circuiting and he was struggling to form one single coherent thought. Then Jude blushed, and Connor completely lost his ability to think, starting to feel light-headed.

"Thanks," Jude said shyly.

"Okay dear," the woman said to Jude. "Go ahead and get that hung up while I take care of your friend over here," she continued, motioning for Connor to come over. Connor stared at her blankly for a moment, still dazed by Jude's appearance in a tux.

"Dear," she said, placing a hand on Connor's shoulder.

"Uh, uh sorry," Connor muttered, standing up and allowing himself to be led to the platform where she would be measuring him.

"You like him quite a bit, don't you?" she chuckled softly as she went to work, measuring Connor for his tux.

"He's my best friend, of course I like him!" Connor retorted, as if her question was the most ridiculous thing in the world. He wouldn't be Jude's best friend, he wouldn't be taking him to prom if he didn't like him.

"Follow me," she said, shaking her head gently, a knowing smile on her face.

Connor stepped back into the fitting room a few minutes later, wearing his tux and tie (while Jude went with a bow tie, Connor had opted for a neck tie) to show Jude.

"Damn," Connor heard Jude whisper as his eyes raked over him, looking him up and down. Connor's throat tightened and his heart started beating wildly at Jude's quiet proclamation. "You look amazing Con," Jude said next, clearing his throat and speaking louder.

Now it was Connor's turn to blush, timidly nodding at Jude before quickly backing out of the room to take his tux off, taking his time as he tried to get a grip on his emotions. _What in the world is happening to me?!_ he thought.

"What was going on with you in there?" Jude asked as they walked back out to the car.

"I—I don't know," Connor answered, because he really didn't. Now it wasn't just his brain that was acting oddly, his body was too. Connor just couldn't figure out how to piece all these things together. It was still a total mystery to him.

"You've been acting really weird ever since yesterday afternoon," Jude said cautiously. "Is it—"

"No," Connor snapped firmly. "It's _not_ that. It was just…that employee at the desk just threw me off. He didn't seem to really like that we were going together." _That's all it was, right? He never reacted well to homophobia, so it would make sense that would send him teetering off-kilter. Yeah, that's all it was_ Connor reasoned.

"Yeah, he didn't look too happy, did he?" Jude sighed.

"But we got our tuxes, so fuck him, right?" Connor said quickly, sensing that Jude was getting upset.

"Yeah," Jude replied, letting out a breathy laugh.

"Hey Con?"

"Yeah Jude?"

"Thanks for doing all this," Jude grinned.

"It's my pleasure Jude, really," Connor replied. And he meant it; he was really ecstatic to see Jude so elated like this as they did all the necessary prep for their prom date.

Jude had his tux now, and his part in things was over until next Saturday, the day of the actual dance. But that didn't mean that Connor's work was anywhere near over. So after Connor dropped Jude off at his house, he made a stop at the flower shop nearby to place an order for a corsage for Jude. At least he thought that's what he was looking for. Connor actually had no idea what he was doing, so he grabbed his tie (so someone could match the color for him) and rather than look around at things, trying to guess what he needed, he instead anxiously walked up to a woman who looked to be in charge.

"E-excuse me?" Connor stuttered quietly (it seemed like he couldn't get a single sentence out today without tripping over at least one of the words). "I need to get a corsage for uh, my boyfriend, but I don't know what I'm looking for." The word boyfriend didn't sound as weird coming out his mouth as Connor expected. Rather than try and explain the whole situation to the person working, he figured it was easier just to tell her that Jude was his boyfriend so he could get the "right" type of flower piece for them. Saying that probably saved some hassle, but Connor was a bit mystified by how easily the word seemed to slip out. _Just add that to the long list of bizarre things that I've done in the last day_ , Connor mused.

"You said boyfriend?" she asked. Connor nodded. "Okay, well first let me start by telling you that you're looking for a boutonniere, not a corsage."

"O-o-oh," Connor mumbled, feeling his face heat up. "S-so I need one of those t-then."

"Hmm, let me see," she murmured, glancing down at the fabric Connor was clutching tightly in his hand. "Is that the color of the ties you'll be wearing?" Connor nodded. "Okay, one second," she replied, leading him up to the front counter and grabbing a large book, setting it down on the surface and rapidly flipping through the pages. "Here, I think this is exactly what you're looking for," she said after a moment, pointing to picture in the book. Connor knew nothing about flowers, so he took the woman's word, ordering two (one for Jude and one for himself) before heading home to finish planning the rest of the night out.

Connor was busy with baseball the whole rest of the week (seeing as the season was now in full swing), and they didn't share any classes, so he didn't see Jude much before prom the next Saturday. He was so busy, between school, baseball, and putting the rest of the night together he didn't have any time to really think about all the unusual things that had happened last Friday and Saturday. It all slipped his mind. The plan for the night was fairly simple: Connor would pick Jude up at 5:00, go with their parents for pictures, have dinner afterwards (Connor had already made reservations), and then go to the dance. Now as Connor was getting ready though, nothing seemed simple. He was standing in front of the mirror, frustratedly fumbling with his tie. His hands were shaking so viciously it was turning into a virtually impossible task.

Connor had triple and quadruple checked everything. All was in order, but he had a back-up plan just in case and a back-up plan for his back-up plan. Nothing was going to go wrong, that wasn't even a remote possibility. So that left Connor at a loss to explain his currently raging anxiety.

"Daaaaaad!" Connor shouted, as he failed for the tenth time to correctly tie his tie. It took all of five seconds for his dad to appear in the doorway of his room, gently chortling. Apparently his dad had been waiting outside the door to his room (something that Connor was actually very grateful for).

"Why am I so nervous dad?" Connor questioned as Adam walked over and set to work tying the tie for Connor. "I mean it's just a dance and it's just Jude. I shouldn't be feeling like I want to puke."

"Son, do you want me honest opinion here?"

Connor nodded.

"I think that you're nervous because you like Jude as more than just your best friend. But you're afraid of admitting that because then you might lose Jude as your friend, and you're terrified that tonight might change things," Adam said.

"D-dad you're being r-ridiculous!" Connor spluttered, though something in the back of his mind told him that explanation made perfect sense.

"Hey, believe me or don't, I'm just telling you what I think," Adam replied, tossing his hands up in mock surrender. "Now you should probably get going or you'll be late picking Jude up."

"No I'm n—" Connor began to say, before looking at his phone. 4:48. "Shit!" he exclaimed, rushing out of his room, ignoring his dad's call of "Language!" after him, hopping in his car and speeding off to the Adams-Foster house.

Connor arrived with about thirty seconds to spare, stumbling out of his car and sprinting up to the front door, knocking just as the clock hit 5:00 PM.

"Oh hey Connor," Stef smiled, appearing as she opened the door. "Jude's still getting ready, he'll be down in a minute. Come on in." Connor swallowed, stepping into the entryway and nervously fiddling with his hands.

"Jude's been so psyched for tonight, he wouldn't stop talking about prom all week," Stef said jokingly.

"Oh really?" Connor laughed nervously.

"Yeah he was—actually, speaking of the devil, here he is now."

Jude had appeared at the top of the stairs. _Speak of the devil?_ Connor thought. _No, that's an angel standing up there_. Somehow Jude had done the impossible; he looked better than he did at the shop when he first tried the tux on. His best friend looked absolutely stunning, and Connor just couldn't figure out why nobody had asked him. Every person in the school had missed out on the angelically handsome Jude Adams-Foster. That was, everyone but him. Connor was starting to feel unbelievably lucky that Jude had wanted to go with him, that he had said yes when Connor asked.

"Hi Jude," Connor said breathlessly when Jude reached the bottom step.

"Hi Con," Jude replied confidently. "You look great!"

"T-t-thanks. Y-you look g-great too," Connor garbled, his jittery hands trying to hand Jude the box that held his boutonniere.

"No Connor, you hold on to that for now," Lena said, gently pushing the box back towards Connor. "We'll take pictures of you two putting them on each other."

"Oh," Connor responded, anxiously rubbing the back of his neck.

"Is your dad meeting us there?" Stef inquired as she delicately began pushing the two towards the door.

"Uh, y-yeah I think so," Connor answered, offering his arm to Jude as they made their way out to their cars. Jude didn't hesitate, linking his arm. Connor took a deep breath, feeling slightly calmer at the contact.

"Okay then, we'll see him, and you guys there," Lena grinned.

The ride to the beach where they were taking their pictures was uncomfortably silent. Connor wanted to speak, but his mind was finding it impossible to string more than two or three words together that weren't simply "Jude." But Jude just kept grinning at him, so maybe he was the only one uncomfortable here. They arrived and walked up to where Adam, Stef and Lena were already waiting for them, cameras already out and eagerly snapping away. Jude giggled at the scene in front of him, and Connor found that it was contagious, beginning to giggle along with Jude.

"Okay, so here's the deal for this first picture. We're going to get your boutonnieres on, and then you're going to stand there, pretending to put them on each other. Got it?" Lena said, immediately launching into her explanation once they were within earshot. Connor nodded, handing his to his dad and Jude's to Lena. Adam took the box, but gave Connor a tight hug before he started to put it on.

"Relax son. Like you said, it's just Jude," Adam whispered in his ear before pulling away to attach the flower to his jacket. Connor was then guided so that he and Jude were standing in front of each other, their hands being directed to where they were supposed to be. Connor knew he should've been pretending to focus on the boutonniere as if he was pinning it to Jude's tux, but he couldn't resist the pull of those dark brown eyes, staring into them as he found that they were already staring right back.

The rest of the evening until they arrived at the dance was kind of a blur to Connor. He and Jude talked, and they laughed, but Connor spent most of the time only half paying attention. He kept thinking back to his dad's words.

 _"…you like Jude as more than just your best friend."_

He had shouted his dad down, claiming he was being absurd. But then he thought about "finally" and "about time." Then he thought about last Friday night in Jude's room. And then he thought about the moment at the tux shop. And lastly he started thinking about every moment of their friendship. _Could his dad possibly be right?_

At 8:00, they arrived at the dance, and Jude was bouncing up and down at Connor's side, unable to contain his excitement. And Connor couldn't help but feel affected by the infectious energy of Jude Adams-Foster. Unconsciously, the two locked hands as they entered the still sparsely populated hall (they were quite early) where the dance was being held.

"Oh my God you two are so cute!" Taylor shrieked from across the room, sprinting up to them and dragging her date along behind her. Her date was some guy named Todd. Connor vaguely recognized him, but he knew almost nothing about the guy.

"I guess I have Connor to thank for that," Jude replied, softly bumping into Connor's side. "He did all the work to set this up."

"Aww, that's adorable! Isn't it adorable Todd?" Todd didn't respond, staring off into space somewhere, so Taylor (not-so) gently nudged him in the side. "Isn't that adorable?" she repeated menacingly.

"Y-yeah," he said with a fake smile.

"Okay, well we're going to dance now," Taylor announced, turning around and pulling Todd along.

"Help me," Todd mouthed as he was yanked onto the floor. Jude and Connor couldn't stop themselves from laughing hysterically. Todd literally had no clue what he had gotten himself into when he asked Taylor to the dance.

"Would you like to dance?" Connor asked.

"I'd love to," Jude said, giving Connor a toothy grin.

Jude was anything but good at dancing. But he also didn't care what anyone thought of his dancing, so he was still out there, tearing it up. Connor danced next to him, fighting the urge to continually laugh at Jude (and eventually failing). He'd never seen anyone put that much effort into the _Cha Cha Slide_ before.

A short time into the night, the two of them got separated. Connor went over and got some punch, settling down at one of the tables set up around the dance floor to wait for Jude to find him at some point. He gazed around at the mass of people around him, trying not to be upset that Jude wasn't at his side. They had only come as friends; Jude had no obligation to spend the whole night with him.

Connor kept looking around for a few minutes before he actually spotted Jude, standing and talking with two other boys. They were both about Jude's height, one with jet-black hair and the other with dirty blond hair. That was all Connor could see, since the backs of their heads were facing Connor. Connor felt an anger boiling up in his stomach at the sight. No boy wanted to even consider asking Jude before prom, and now that he was here, obviously the most handsome boy at prom, they were lining up to (Connor assumed) ask him to dance with them. They didn't deserve Jude, not tonight anyway. Connor was the only one who cared enough about Jude to ask him to come as his date, so he was the only one that should be dancing with Jude.

So Connor stood up, stomping over to where Jude was standing, talking to the boys.

"Hey Jude!" Connor chirped. The two boys took one look at Jude and Connor, seeing their matching ties and flowers before stuttering something Connor couldn't hear over the music and walking away.

"Hi Con," Jude smiled. Just then, a slow dance song began filtering out of the speakers. Connor didn't really recognize the song, but the song itself wasn't what mattered. Connor just wanted to slow dance with Jude. "Come on," Jude said, beginning to make his way over the tables before being stopped by Connor grabbing his hand.

"C-Con?"

"You don't want to do one of the slow dances?" Connor asked timidly.

"W-well I do, but I didn't think that you would want to," Jude explained. "We're just here as friends."

"I want to Jude," Connor replied, carefully pulling Jude onto the wooden parquet floor. Connor snaked his arms around Jude's midsection, pulling his body snugly into him as Jude placed his hands on Connor's shoulders.

They stiffly swayed to the music for a while, feeling a little awkward about the close proximity. Jude started to relax first, melting into Connor's figure and moving his hands from his shoulders to wrap them around Connor's neck. Connor stayed stiff, but took in the feeling of having Jude tightly pressed to his chest. He felt Jude's heart pounding against his body, so he hugged Jude a little tighter, absentmindedly rubbing small circles into his back. Just as the song ended, Connor stopped feeling Jude's heartbeat.

Jude released his arms and went to pull away as _Uptown Funk_ began blasting out the speakers, but Connor couldn't let go. Jude looked him in the eye, giving him a questioning look. Connor just gazed back into those twinkling dark brown eyes, mesmerized by the bright life dancing behind his irises.

 _"…you like Jude as more than just your best friend."_

The realization hit Connor in the head like a 95 mile per hour fastball, leaving him dazed. His eyes flitted from Jude's eyes down to his lips, and Connor started to feel a completely overwhelming desire to kiss them.

 _"…you're afraid of admitting that because then you might lose Jude as your friend, and_ _you're terrified that tonight might change things."_

Connor had just admitted it. It was time to be done with getting terrified of things changing, because whether Connor liked it or not, tonight had changed things. So he tossed every fear, every inhibition aside and closed his eyes, leaning in to close the gap between him and Jude. He didn't have to lean in very far; Jude met him quickly. Their lips touched and Connor's mind went completely blank.

All that he could focus on, all that mattered was the sensation of Jude's body pressed up against him, lips on his. The moment was frozen in time, the two of them kissing for seemingly an eternity. Finally, breathless, Connor pulled away, one thought playing in his mind on an endless loop.

"I'm in love with you," Connor whispered, resting his forehead on Jude's, a hand cupping his cheek.

"It's about time you said so," Jude giggled.

Connor couldn't help but laugh hysterically. Jude knew. His dad knew. Stef and Lena knew. They'd never said anything, but Connor bet that Taylor and Daria knew it too. Almost everyone knew Connor was in love—except Connor himself.

"I'm an idiot Jude," Connor sighed.

"I know," Jude grinned. "But you're my idiot, and I wouldn't want it any other way. I love you Con."

"I love you too Jude."

Leading him off the dance floor, Connor sat down at a table, pulling Jude onto his lap, snaking his arms around him as he rested his chin on Jude's shoulder.

"How long have you known?" Connor asked.

"Since the summer in between seventh and eighth grade," Jude shrugged.

"You've just been waiting for me for five years?" Connor mused. That was crazy; he didn't think he could've waited that long for Jude.

"You've always been someone worth waiting for."

"Well, thanks for that," Connor smiled.

"You're welcome. Hey Con, I think I'm ready to go," Jude commented, standing up. Connor nodded, entwining their fingers as they walked out of the hall. Connor drove Jude home, not releasing his hand except when he had to. Now they stood outside the front door of the Adams-Foster house. Connor brought Jude into his arms, clutching him tightly.

"Thanks for tonight Con," Jude whispered.

"It was my pleasure. Easily the best dance I've ever been to, and trust me Jude, I've been to quite a few."

"Can I ask you something before you leave?" Jude asked.

"Yeah, anything."

"Um Con," Jude said quietly, his voice shaking slightly. "Do you wanna be my boyfriend?" Connor responded by crashing their lips together, smiling into the kiss.

"Does that answer your question?"

Jude nodded.

"See you tomorrow," Jude murmured, quickly pecking Connor's lips again. "I love you."

"I love you too Jude," Connor grinned, before turning and skipping back to his car when the front door closed behind Jude.

When Connor arrived home, he walked inside and plopped down on the couch next to his dad who was waiting for him, a smile plastered on his face.

"Looks like somebody had a good night," Adam chuckled. Connor nodded, feeling too giddy to do anything except giggle. "So what happened?"

Just then, Connor's phone buzzed, two texts popping up, one from Taylor and one from Jude.

Jude's text was simple: _**I miss you already**_. Connor quickly tapped out a reply ( _ **ditto**_ ) before checking the message from Taylor. Connor started grinning wider, looking at the picture she had sent him. Taylor had immortalized his first kiss with Jude. He quickly saved it to his phone sending it to Jude ( _ **Aren't we the cutest?**_ ) and then handed his phone over to his dad.

"Thank God," Adam sighed. "I don't know how much longer I could've watched you tiptoe around your feelings for Jude."

"Thanks for what you said earlier dad," Connor mumbled. "That's what made me realize I loved him. I just wish you'd have said something earlier."

"Well, better late than never, right?"

"Definitely," Connor laughed.

"Well Jude is blowing up your phone, so I should let you get to that. Night son."

"Night dad."

He looked at his phone, glancing through Jude's texts.

 _ **How did she get that?**_

 _ **Was she watching us the whole night?**_

 _ **She probably was**_

 _ **I'm gonna kill her tbh**_

 **I'm glad she took it**

 **Easily the best picture of us ever :)**

 **Now I have something to remember our first kiss by :P**

 **I'm probably going to post it to insta**

 **Caption: I had the best night of my life with this incredible bo Love you my amazing boyfriend judicornadamsfoster**

 _ **You sap**_

 **I only speak the truth**

 _ **God I love you**_

 **I love you too babe**

 _ **Babe? That's new**_

 **You don't like it?**

 _ **I love it**_

 _ **My moms are yelling at me to go to bed**_

 _ **I gtg**_

 _ **Night Con love you**_

 **Love you too**

Connor flopped down on his bed, smiling at the texts. He simply couldn't wait for tomorrow. And for all the days after. Connor fell asleep, thanking his lucky stars and every deity he could think of that no one had asked Jude to prom.


End file.
